Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome

Page: 47

In ancient times, the country which we now call the Crimea, was known
by the name of the Taurica Chersonnesus. It was colonized by Greek
settlers, who, finding that the Scythian inhabitants had a native
divinity somewhat resembling their own Artemis, identified her with the
huntress-goddess of the mother-country. The worship of this Taurian
Artemis was attended with the most barbarous practices, for, in
accordance with a law which she had enacted, all strangers, whether male
or female, landing, or shipwrecked on her shores, were sacrificed upon
her altars. It is supposed that this decree was [94]issued by the Taurian
goddess of Chastity, to protect the purity of her followers, by keeping
them apart from foreign influences.

The interesting story of Iphigenia, a priestess in the temple of
Artemis at Tauris, forms the subject of one of Schiller's most beautiful
plays. The circumstances occurred at the commencement of the Trojan war,
and are as follows:—The fleet, collected by the Greeks for the
siege of Troy, had assembled at Aulis, in Bœotia, and was about to
set sail, when Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief, had the misfortune to
kill accidentally a stag which was grazing in a grove, sacred to Artemis.
The offended goddess sent continuous calms that delayed the departure of
the fleet, and Calchas, the soothsayer, who had accompanied the
expedition, declared that nothing less than the sacrifice of Agamemnon's
favorite daughter, Iphigenia, would appease the wrath of the goddess. At
these words, the heroic heart of the brave leader sank within him, and he
declared that rather than consent to so fearful an alternative, he would
give up his share in the expedition and return to Argos. In this dilemma
Odysseus and other great generals called a council to discuss the matter,
and, after much deliberation, it was decided that private feeling must
yield to the welfare of the state. For a long time the unhappy Agamemnon
turned a deaf ear to their arguments, but at last they succeeded in
persuading him that it was his duty to make the sacrifice. He,
accordingly, despatched a messenger to his wife, Clytemnæstra, begging
her to send Iphigenia to him, alleging as a pretext that the great heroAchilles desired to make her his wife. Rejoicing at the brilliant destiny
which awaited her beautiful daughter, the fond mother at once obeyed the
command, and sent her to Aulis. When the maiden arrived at her
destination, and discovered, to her horror, the dreadful fate which
awaited her, she threw herself in an agony of grief at her father's feet,
and with sobs and tears entreated him to have mercy on her, and to spare
her young life. But alas! her doom was sealed, and her now repentant and
[95]heart-broken father was powerless to avert
it. The unfortunate victim was bound to the altar, and already the fatal
knife was raised to deal the death-blow, when suddenly Iphigenia
disappeared from view, and in her place on the altar, lay a beautiful
deer ready to be sacrificed. It was Artemis herself, who, pitying the
youth and beauty of her victim, caused her to be conveyed in a cloud to
Taurica, where she became one of her priestesses, and intrusted with the
charge of her temple; a dignity, however, which necessitated the offering
of those human sacrifices presented to Artemis.